Origin: Chatham was first granted by the New Hampshire proprietors in 1767, and named in honor of William Pitt, Earl of Chatham and Prime Minister of England. Pitt was one of few who supported the Rockingham government in saying that England had no right to tax the colonists. None of the 73 grantees dared settle in the wilderness, because it was inhabited by Pequawket Indians. In 1770 the land was granted to new settlers, including Abiel Chandler, founder of the Chandler Scientific School at Dartmouth College, and Samuel Langdon, one time president of Harvard College, who made the famous Blanchard Map of the North Country.

Villages and Place Names: North Chatham, South Chatham

Population, Year of the First Census Taken: 58 residents in 1790

Population Trends: Population change for Chatham totaled 206 over 55 years, from 150 in 1960 to 356 in 2015. Decennial percent change was 41 percent from 1970 to 1980, 42 percent from 1980 to 1990, and 29 percent from 2000 to 2010; population decreased over all other decades. The 2015 Census estimate for Chatham was 356 residents, which ranked 222nd among New Hampshire's incorporated cities and towns.

Population Density and Land Area, 2015 (US Census Bureau): 6.3 persons per square mile of land area, the seventh lowest among the cities and towns. Chatham contains 56.7 square miles of land area and 0.5 square miles of inland water area.

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